Down to the Casing (part 2 of 2)
Continued from part 1.
Title: Down to the Casing
Universe: loosely G1 cartoon after the appearance of the Constructicons on Earth.
Rated: PG, so K+.
Pairing: None. Jazz/Prowl in the background if you squint.
Author's Notes: Recognizable Characters/Names belong to Hasbro/Takara. I’m just playing with them. Starrunner is my offspring.
-:-radio transmission-:-
-X-X-X-Hours pass.-X-X-X-
An alarm was going off. It was an unfamiliar alarm. Starrunner wondered how many different alarm codes the Nemesis used. He was about to radio Cobweb to ask if he knew what the drill was, this time, when he realized something was definitely wrong: he had no transceiver! His helmet felt to be intact but he could not access his radio to transmit nor scan. He detected the empty connectors in his head and marveled that someone had stolen his transceiver while he recharged. One of those Casseticons was going to get what was coming to him today, whether he found out which one parted him from his transceiver or not! This was just too personal a violation to take.
The alarm continued. Someone nearby swore in a human language. Starrunner powered on his optics and sat up in surprise: he remembered Ratchet and the Ark and that Cobweb wasn't in range if he could use his radio! He sprang off the repair table and ran for the med bay entrance as if he knew where he should go. Ratchet stopped him: "Fraggit Sparklet! Stand down!"
Ratchet had Red Alert hooked up to a variety of equipment. Starrunner noted it, remembering what Lord Prime said about Ratchet treating Red Alert in the brig. Rather than pry into that, he asked, "Ratchet-Sir, what means this alarm?"
Ratchet ignored the honorific for once. "That's the general alarm. Wait a tick and the 'Bot on comm will come on and tell us what we're in for." Ratchet worked efficiently to stabilize Red Alert and pause the processes. The alarm cut out. To the off-line mech he said, "You just stay here, slagger, and I'll get back to you when I can."
A voice Starrunner did not recognize came over the all-call: Three jets and all the Constructicons are converging on us, they will arrive within one breem. Dinobots to the main entrance immediately. Repeat: Dinobots to the main entrance; three Seekers and team Devastator en route, ETA five minutes. Sideswipe out.
Swoop squawked and emerged from the back of the bay. Starrunner hadn't even realized he was back there. "Me Swoop go now, Ratchet!" he called to his mentor as he rushed to the exit.
Starrunner didn't hesitate. "I am with you, Swoop!" he said and followed the Dinobot out of the room.
They were within sight of the other Dinobots and the exit when Starrunner realized Ratchet was behind them.
-X-X-X-
The more Starscream thought about all the trouble Shockwave's creations had caused in their short time on Earth, the more he hated Megatron's lieutenant on Cybertron. -:-When I get my hands on that glitch,-:- he sent to his Trine mates over their encrypted radio, -:-I swear to Primus I will crush his spark casing myself!-:- He meant Shockwave and his recent creations, and Soundwave and the Casseticons, and his audience could pick any or all for all he cared. He was tired of Soundwave thinking that just because he was Megatron's current favorite he could order things in their garrison as he wanted. He was tired of the Casseticons (and therefore Soundwave) knowing all his business. He was tired of hearing Shockwave speak through his creations with "Lord Megatron" and the ubiquitous "Sir" that just begged for a beating.
Skywarp answered him: -:-Screamer, you're just slagged off 'cause Soundwave ran you through the Pit over it.-:-
Thundercracker teased: -:-Ya! The 'Waves are Megatron's faves this cycle.-:- He cackled and did a barrel-roll, letting his turbulence wash over his commander playfully. -:-Shockwave can do no wrong and we can do no right but you'll win him back. At least we get some Autobot action this time, Screamer, and right on their doorstep!-:- He rolled back into their formation smoothly. -:-No fraggin' fleshies, no 'strategic retreat'!-:-
Skywarp made to bump Thundercracker's wingtip then teleported a meter away and back into his position. -:-It's embarrassing every time! I had that Sideswipe right where I wanted him last time, too!-:- He practiced a little revisionist history, or misremembered which battle with the red Lamborghini was the last one. Starscream let it slide.
Thundercracker didn't. -:-Ya, I guess you did, 'Warp, since he ended up draggin' me down with that brother o' his!-:- He was still a little bitter about stalling out and being rescued by the very mech they were seeking. It wasn't like the crash would have killed him: the same dunking only very temporarily grounded Skywarp. At least Skywarp had significant damage to show for his humiliation; Thundercracker only had a little yellow paint because Starrunner forced Sunstreaker to focus on hanging on rather than pummeling him.
Skywarp harrumphed and bounced ahead of Thundercracker to create a wake to tweak his flight and warped right back into proper position flanking Starscream.
-:-Almost there. Look sharp!-:- the air commander said with anticipation. They could see the dust being kicked up by the approaching Constructicons. Moonlight reflected off purple and green metal. -:-We'll see how well they do against Devastator in the dark,-:- he said with a laugh as he led the descent on the Ark.
-X-X-X-
Sunstreaker was not about to let the Dinos have all the fun. When his brother sounded the alarm, he first thought maybe the twelve-hour stint on console was wearing thin: it had to be a prank. But the tone of Sideswipe's voice and the precision of his words truly got Sunstreaker's attention and he paused his video game to run out of their room and down to the entrance. The Dinobots were already out there, harassing Devastator while an F-15 took pot-shots at them from the air. Swoop was engaged with the other two. In infrared, the three F-15 Seekers looked identical. Sunstreaker transformed as he ran and raced up a nearby mountain to gain altitude to launch himself at the Decepticons fighting Swoop. They saw him coming this time, and he found himself on the wrong end of someone's cannon as he transformed. Bracing himself for the blasts, he didn't realize the jet had taken aim on his paraglider. He plummeted when the glider was hit. Seeker Two disappeared and reappeared closer to Swoop and Seeker Three. That action defined Skywarp. A shape he didn't recognize hurtled toward him at an angle from the ground. He took aim but did not fire.
"I can catch you, Sir!" the strange mech said, and Sunstreaker recognized the Decepticon who'd been reduced to spare parts in the repair bay, the one Swoop had carried in a few nights before. Sunstreaker altered his aim to fire on Seeker Three who was now bearing down on the winged mech.
Small hands caught him up under his arms. "Thanks," Sunstreaker said suspiciously as he tried a blast in Thundercracker's (or was that Starscream's?) direction since Skywarp was out of range.
"Which one do you want, Sir?" the stranger asked as he carried Sunstreaker higher.
"Think we can catch that fragger, Skywarp?" Sunstreaker replied, cursing as Skywarp teleported into and then back out of range before he could get off another volley.
"Yes Sir. In a tick I'll have his pattern and be able to drop you on him."
-X-X-X-
"The Dinobots cannot stand against Devastator," Prowl declared as he and Optimus assessed the on-going battle from the comm center. "He is toying with them."
"It's not as if we don't know what they're here for." Prime contemplated the image of Laserbeak in stasis in the brig.
-X-X-X-
-:-Screamer, I see Starrunner! They let him outside!-:- Thundercracker shouted over the radio.
-:-How fortunate! Where is our wayward brother?-:- Starscream had not imagined the Autobots would just let Starrunner go! Instead of a siege, they could actively hunt! It was a beautiful night for it.
-:-He's playin' jet-pack for the yellow one! Traitor's helpin' him stalk me!-:- Skywarp sounded particularly angry.
-:-Did we expect any less from him, Skywarp? As long as he draws energon he will betray us.-:- Starscream was distracted from his oft-rehearsed but never delivered speech about Shockwave and his general failure as a Decepticon. He watched with glee as targets worth Devastator's time finally came out of the Ark: the tactician, followed by the Prime himself. His moment to relish the sound of breaking glass as the Autobot Prowl smashed into the side of a mountain, no match for one swing of Devastator's huge fist, was curtailed when a flash of moonlight on red lacquer caught his attention too late. Sideswipe latched onto him. He screamed and tried to shake his assailant. Sideswipe whooped. Starscream flew close to Devastator hoping the gestalt would notice his plight and pull the fighter off him. He was out of luck at the moment: Omega Supreme had engaged Devastator and distracted him from even landing one solid blow on the Autobot commander let alone paying any attention to Starscream. The Dinobots were merely a nuisance to the two huge combatants now. Starscream took a few more blows from Sideswipe, then raked him off his fuselage by scraping along the Guardian robot's back. As soon as he was relieved of that burden, he caught sight of just the mech he'd hoped to see. The Traitor was lurking, airborne but in root-mode, watching Sunstreaker wrestle Skywarp. Starscream headed for Starrunner, ignoring Skywarp's curses and shouts for help. He transformed into root-mode to unleash his full fury on the turncoat. "I'll make you regret the day you were sparked!" he screeched. Starrunner turned to look at him and Starscream was struck with how much this mech reminded him of himself. "You're a waste of my spare parts!" And Shockwave will pay dearly for that waste! he thought.
Starrunner looked frightened. Starscream enjoyed the power to cause that, lazily bringing his null-rays to bear, as if he had all the time in the universe. Starrunner took off straight up. Starscream swore and followed him. Starrunner cut the power to his thrusters and started to fall. Starscream didn't have enough time to react and took the full impact of a body three-fourths his mass hitting his upper torso, feet-first. Starrunner kicked off of him and fired the thrusters in his feet at the same instant, singeing Starscream's now-cracked canopy and paint, literally adding insult to injury. Starscream swore again.
Hands covered his optics astroseconds after his audio receptors registered the sound of a jet-pack, too close. "Guess who?" someone - had to be that Pit-blasted Sideswipe! - asked with mock sweetness before yanking his head back hard and bending him backwards against a knee in his back. A pile-driver pounded him rhythmically, crushing part of his fuselage.
Starscream swore again and fired off a blast of his null-ray convulsively.
Skywarp screamed: it hit him a glancing blow. He was relatively unaffected by the blast and elated to feel lighter by the weight of one Lamborghini. Screamer had dislodged Sunstreaker! Skywarp bounced a bit away from the battle to reassess and watch his attacker drop to his death.
-X-X-X-
Ratchet was working feverishly to save Prowl. Devastator seemed to have focused all his power on the Datsun, first throwing him into the side of the mountain, then blasting away at him despite the onslaught of four Dinobots, Prime, Ironhide and Jazz until Omega Supreme tackled him. "What in the Pit did you do to get his attention?" Ratchet asked as he finished sealing the leaks that threatened to drown Prowl's processors in energon. He began crimping broken coolant lines. He heard Starscream cackle and looked up just in time to see Sideswipe rocket away from the slagger. Sideswipe was trying to save his falling brother. It took only a processor cycle for Ratchet to compute that Sideswipe was too far away to catch him up. He froze, thinking if they lost one Twin they'd surely lose the other.
An unfamiliar shape darted in from the side and caught Sunstreaker with a clash of metal on metal. Damaged, but obviously functional, Starrunner slowed his flight to adjust his hold on Sunstreaker.
Ratchet heard Sunstreaker curse and smiled with relief, turning back to the grim case in front of him. "Too bad you won't remember any of this," he said to Prowl although the XO was off-line from his injuries, "you would've enjoyed tweaking Sunny about that in your own flat way. Sparklet's a strong flyer, even in root-mode."
-X-X-X-
Cursing Seekers everywhere to the deepest level of the Pit, Sideswipe roughly cast Starscream away and went full-throttle on his jet pack to try to catch Sunstreaker. Although his processor told him there was no trajectory that would allow him to cross Sunny's path before he hit the ground, Sideswipe kept the throttle open and plunged toward his brother.
That mistake of technology was cackling. Sideswipe didn't have time to spare to shut him up. The mech who'd been under surveillance, working in the depths of the Ark when Sideswipe came on duty at noon, flew under Sunstreaker and caught him. Sunny was okay! He was cursing the damage done by the mid-air save, but Sunny was okay. Starscream's gonna pay! Sideswipe thought as he turned to refocus on the now silent Decepticon.
Starscream seemed to have optics only for Sunstreaker as Sideswipe reversed course. He didn't notice Sideswipe taking a bead on him. Starscream raised his arm-mounted weapons as Sideswipe launched a missile. Starscream got off a pair of blasts from his null-rays before the missile hit him, square in the canopy. Sideswipe could hear Sunstreaker yelling, so he knew Starscream missed. The Decepticon went reeling from the missile blast, internals smoking. He smashed into the back of Omega Supreme's head and fell to the ground. Omega kept thrashing Devastator.
Sideswipe noted an unfamiliar tone in his brother's expletives: Sunny was scared! Sideswipe looked just in time to see that Sunstreaker was again plummeting to the ground, this time because his flying partner had taken the brunt of Starscream's blasts. Processing quickly, Sideswipe understood what he was seeing: the nearly paralyzed mech was controlling his fall as much as he could with one remaining attitude-control thruster. At current range, acceleration and attitude rate, they would crash in the river bed with his brother on top. Sunny would survive.
-X-X-X-
Starrunner will not survive this time, Starscream vowed to himself, carefully computing the firing solution for both null-rays. Damaged as he was - that incompetent mechanic had not even been able to rebuild the Traitor's transformation sequence! - and currently burdened with the mass of a mech Starscream had borne only too often, there was no way Starrunner could escape him now! Firing solution computed, checked and rechecked, he fired both weapons. "Good-bye!" he was about to crow when a missile crushed through his damaged canopy and began burning the delicate circuitry in his core. He tumbled alarmingly, smashed into one of the mountains of metal, and then came to rest on the ground. Raising his head and clearing the dust from his optics, he registered Starrunner spinning slowly on one remaining attitude thruster, accelerating to the ground. With that thruster stuck on, Starrunner would take double damage: at impact, he'd be beneath the yellow Autobot, suffering the crash for them both. He'd be crushed completely.
Starscream found he could still fly but he was stuck in root-mode. "How ironic," he remarked to himself, noting that he also needed a new vocalizer. No matter, he still had his radio. -:-Enough!-:- he broadcast unencrypted on the primary Decepticon channel, knowing the Autobots would be monitoring it. -:-Decepticons, Devastator, Mission Accomplished! Let's go!-:-
-X-X-X-
Mission accomplished? Ravage thought. Mission accomplished?!? What does that imbecile think our mission was? Mission accomplished. Frag. He did not leave his post. -:-What about Laserbeak?-:- he sent, encrypted, over the secure Decepticon radio channel. He still regretted not being able to prevent Laserbeak's capture but he'd almost been caught himself when the Minibots swept the ventilation system after trapping Laserbeak over the brig.
Thundercracker replied: -:-I'll help you get in. 'Warp, distract Dino-dolt for a tick and I'll break Ravage's barrier.-:-
Skywarp: -:-Only a tick, 'Cracker - you know I hate him, with his 'Me Swoop' and 'You Decepticons'. Too annoying to live, fraggit!-:-
Ravage detected the energy fluctuations that signaled Skywarp using his unique device. He waited. On the far side of the mountain from the battle, all he could do was monitor the radio and listen with his audio receptors. Thundercracker flew over the mountain to his position. -:-If he is damaged, you will help me get him home.-:- It was not a question. Ravage knew the orders his Master had given the Seekers as well as they did and his Master was not to be denied.
"Yeah, yeah. If he can't fly himself, one of us'll carry him. He has a cassette alt-mode so it's not like we'll really notice." Thundercracker liked to vocalize to the 'Cons who could not, just to feel superior and show off the ability they lacked.
Ravage could not care less. He had a radio and a touch of his Master's telepathic ability: he could read Thundercracker like a data pad. -:-Reallocate your vocalizer energy to removing this barrier.-:-
"Right," Thundercracker said as he transformed. Tinkering with the barricade only a moment, he grew impatient and fired on it. It caved in easily after. "There, now go get your brother and we'll go."
Ravage went, stalking down into the reopened passage expertly. He was almost to the brig when he heard Starscream splutter over the radio channel that might as well be shared: -:-'Cracker, 'Warp, we're gone!-:-
Ravage growled low in his chest. The Trine would feel his Master's wrath when he got back to the Nemesis.
-X-X-X-
Filling Sideswipe's place on console to let the front-line warrior join the defense of the Ark, Beachcomber noted the alarm from the blank face of the mountain. Someone had broken through the barrier they'd used to seal the Casseticons' private entrance. He activated the cameras that would show him the mechs involved.
"Aw, is only Ravage," he murmured to himself. He brought up the image of the mechs gathered in the common room awaiting orders or news. "Heya bots." All optics turned to the intercom speaker. The camera was right beside it so Beachcomber could see just about every mech in the room. "We got Ravage comin' in the back. 'Bee, ya wanna meet 'im or what?"
Cliffjumper was already up and ready to run, except for Gears' hand staying him. Cliffjumper complained. Bumblebee answered, "'Comber, we'll divide up, a third to the brig, the rest to make sure Ravage stays on course. We'll make sure he only takes Laserbeak with him, nothing else and nothing left behind."
"All right, 'Bee," Beachcomber replied over Cliffjumper and Brawn's protests that two prisoners were better and two dead Cassettes were best. "'Comber out." He cut the connection, not caring to listen to Bumblebee explain the concept of 'herding' to mechs who felt they were left out of the action all too often.
-X-X-X-
Jazz watched as Starscream slowly started to leave the ground and caught his transmission on the main 'Con channel: -:-Enough! Decepticons, Devastator, Mission Accomplished! Let's go!-:- Jazz dodged carefully around Devastator as the gestalt swatted Grimlock one more time and took powerfully to the air himself. If I time it just right - yes! Starscream did not see him. Directly beneath the hovering air commander, Jazz blasted him, holding the trigger down at relatively close range, cutting through his target's armor because Starscream was too damaged to fly away quickly enough.
-X-X-X-
Concerned that Megatron did not show himself, Optimus continued firing on Devastator. How the gestalt managed to throw Omega Supreme that far, he thought he did not want to know. He registered the fight between the Lamborghinis and the Seekers, storing those images away for later. With Prowl down and Devastator seeming to focus on him now, he had no time to process it. He dodged another blast from Devastator's solar rifle, feeling the paint on his chest plating scorch and one of his windows finally crack with a wince. Sludge had a firm hold on Devastator's right arm: Scavenger was screaming over the common radio channel, cursing the Dinobot and all his Earthly relatives. The Twins' fight seemed to be slowing with both Starscream and Sunstreaker down. Thank Primus! Starscream's calling the retreat! What is Jazz doing?!? As Devastator wrenched his arm from Sludge's jaws to swing at Grimlock who was crushing down hard on Mixmaster's drum Optimus bellowed, "Jazz! What are you doing?!?"
Jazz grinned ferally and kept at it, answering Optimus over the secure Autobot channel, -:-Saw an opportunity and I'm takin' it!-:-
Optimus knew Jazz wasn't watching Devastator. Ironhide, Prowl, Starrunner, Omega Supreme and Ratchet were nowhere to be seen. Swoop was trading shots with Skywarp; the third Seeker was missing. Starscream was spluttering over the Decepticon common channel as he slowly turned in mid-air to fight Jazz. The gestalt was reaching for those two nearest combatants, presumably to save the Seeker and squash his attacker. Optimus launched himself for the smaller 'Bot just as Ironhide rolled in from wherever Devastator had kicked him earlier.
"Jazz! Move!" Ironhide barked at Jazz as he closed the distance to him, hitting him in the back of the legs hard enough to launch him forward, out of both Starscream's line of fire and Devastator's reach. Optimus caught himself, stopping forward motion in time to avoid colliding with Ironhide or Jazz. Ironhide didn't slow down. Starscream's null-ray mostly missed him; Devastator's swipe did not. Ironhide transformed just as his side was crushed in and his van-mode began to roll over. As a robot, he didn't roll far across the ground and came to rest on his back, bringing his 'water-gun' to bear. It was unnecessary. Starscream didn't cut the power quickly enough and Devastator's left arm, Bonecrusher, took the null-ray full on, hanging limp from his connection to his team. Devastator had Starscream in his right hand and was airborne, this time with speed: apparently all his personalities were in agreement on the withdrawal.
Starscream: -:-'Cracker, 'Warp, we're gone!-:-
He watched Skywarp disengage Swoop by teleporting out along their path of retreat. Thundercracker flew from the far side of Mt. Hilary to take up a position near Devastator's head. Optimus, through his vocalizer and over the radio: -:-Autobots, report!-:-
"Sideswipe." He sounded relieved as he helped his brother to stand.
"Me Grimlock!"
-:-Sunstreaker.-:- He sounded uncharacteristically subdued on radio. Optimus deduced multiple crashes had injured him badly. Optimus didn't catch enough of what he said next to bother processing it. (Sunstreaker said to his brother, "That jet-bot's not gettin' up by himself. And he got his paint all over me.")
"Mmmh, me Sludge."
At the same time, through his speaker system: "Jazz-man here. Where's Prowl?"
-:-Ratchet.-:- The CMO sounded grim. -:-I've got him Jazz.-:-
-:-Awwk! Me Swoop get him Starrunner.-:- Even the normally-happy Swoop sounded bleak. Optimus watched him transform with only a minor hitch from his own injuries as he landed near the Twins. He couldn't see Starrunner but guessed he was in their vicinity.
"I'm right here, Optimus," Ironhide drawled from his side. Optimus looked down and smiled faintly behind his mask.
Following Swoop's example, Slag and Snarl sounded off over the radio.
Tallying quickly, Optimus came up three participants short. "Who didn't report? Prowl? Omega? Starrunner?"
Ratchet: -:-Prime, I have Prowl. He's off-line but stable. I need someone to - great, Jazz, help me load him up.-:- Optimus marveled that Prowl survived Devastator's focused attack. He made a note to discuss that behavior with Prowl when he was again functional. It was disturbing to watch the normally random destruction of the slow-witted gestalt turned so fully on one target. He didn't linger on the realization that he'd been the second recipient of that attention.
Swoop: -:-Prime! Me Swoop not help him Starrunner here. Need repair bay now!-:-
Before Optimus could answer Swoop, Sunstreaker spoke loudly, "Get off me, bro'. Help Swoop peel that piece o' slag up." Metal slid off metal and Sunstreaker went to his knees without his Twin's support. "I don't need red streaks added to the black." Optimus decided Sunstreaker would live to fight another day.
Omega Supreme's answer startled him: "Omega Supreme - functional. Assistance required." Optimus had no idea what might be broken on the huge mech.
"Optimus," Ironhide said thoughtfully, "I'll go help Ratchet and Jazz get Prowl inside. The Dinos are lookin' out for each other just fine," he made a broad gesture to the two pair of big mechs leaning on each other and slowly lumbering toward the entrance to the Ark, "An' I think Swoop and the Lambos will be okay. Why don't you go see to Omega and we'll all get inside 'fore they come back to admire their handiwork?"
Optimus nodded once, never questioning taking his friend's advice.
-X-X-X-
Ironhide could tell Optimus was processing a bit slower than normal. He presented a simple plan to keep them all moving and was relieved when Optimus nodded and started off toward Omega Supreme. Ratchet and Swoop were talking medical jargon on the radio, both somber.
Ironhide was slowly trekking to the site of Prowl's meeting with the mountain when Ratchet addressed him. -:-'Hide. We've got Prowl.-:- Ironhide was close enough to see that Ratchet was in ambulance-mode now, and Jazz was closing his rear doors. -:-Can you serve as transport for Starrunner?-:- Ratchet started rolling, Porsche only a tick behind him. -:-Swoop's got his processor and spark casing and can carry Sunny in but we don't want - we'll take all of Starrunner inside. Sideswipe'll stay and load you up.-:- The two passed Ironhide's position, still picking up speed.
Transforming with some difficulty, Ironhide answered: -:-Aye, Ratch'. I'll see ya in the med bay.-:-
-X-X-X-
Ravage thought it was too easy. When he sensed the mechs in the vicinity of the brig, he stopped, listening to their thoughts. "...Get no action...", "...Won't let me fire on Ravage...", and "...Hope it's over soon..." were among the tidbits he picked up. So, Laserbeak's guards were under orders to not fire on him today? How could he use that?
Almost without sound, he padded over the cells of the brig until he sensed his brother's processor beneath him. Here. He extended a delicate cutting tool from his paw and carefully cut through the weld on three sides of the vent. Claws in the air holes, he used his weight to bend it down. It is not as if they will not know I have been here, he thought. He tried the encrypted radio at low power to raise Laserbeak: -:-Laserbeak! Power up.-:- No answer; no CPU activity. -:-Laserbeak! Move!-:- No response. Ravage dropped lightly to the floor of the cell. Laserbeak did not stir. Ravage scanned his systems. You idiot! You put yourself in stasis again. Ravage nudged the bird-like mech but none of his sensors were activated. He swore to himself. No other way available to him, he gripped Laserbeak's neck as gently as he could in his jaws and lifted him as he'd observed the Earthly felines on which his current mode was based lift their prey. You spend too much time spying on Auto-dolts: their inefficiency has tainted you. He looked around the cell. The door wasn't even locked. He looked at the vent through which he'd jumped and computed that returning through it with Laserbeak in his jaws without injuring at least one of them was improbable. They have orders to not fire on me. I can walk out the front door. Appreciating the humor of it, he did precisely that.
Master will be pleased by this imagery, he thought smugly, trailed by an ever-growing group of grumbling Autobots as he blatantly paraded his prize through the halls of the Ark. He maintained dignity worthy of his Master, careful not to hurry. This almost makes up for having to leave you here last time, Laserbeak, he thought to his burden.
-X-X-X-
Near daybreak, the crowd in the med bay began to disperse. Ratchet forced it to. With Prime, Ironhide, Sunstreaker, Prowl, and Starrunner laid out, requiring varying amounts of re-building, Ratchet sent Swoop out to assess Omega Supreme's condition. He appreciated Prime's attempt to explain the Guardian's damage, but Prime was no medic, not even a mechanic, so all Ratchet could conclude from his report was that Omega wasn't going to 'bleed out' and Prime's processor was not running optimally. The Dinobots left first, requiring Ratchet to see to Swoop and tell Grimlock their bombardier was fine before they'd go. Swoop had patched each of the others up when Grimlock demanded that Swoop be checked out, too, or no Dinobot would leave the bay. Sideswipe and Jazz finally left together after each trying in his own stubborn way to persuade the CMO to let him stay and fret. He told them to get cleaned up and get some energon and come see him at noon.
Ratchet hoped that would give him enough time to at least have a plan for each of his new patients.
Prime and Ironhide would be fine within the day. Both required some glass replacement and to have a portion of their plating re-conditioned, but Swoop could see to all that. In addition, Prime's CPU needed time to run its own diagnostics and repairs. Ratchet was not worried about those two.
Sunstreaker was nearly as bad off as Prowl. Ratchet wished he were actually just a bit more so: he hadn't shut down yet and was steadily cursing Seekers and complaining about his finish. Ratchet felt he was running his vocalizer specifically to keep from going into recharge. "Primus fraggit, Sunny," he said wearily, trying to interrupt the flow of words, "shut the slag up and go off-line for a while. I'll get to you. You're not that bad off."
Sunstreaker kept talking as if he had not heard Ratchet. Ratchet swore with feeling. Sunstreaker kept going. Ratchet stalked over and bent down close to Sunstreaker. Optic-to-optic, Sunstreaker gave no indication that he knew Ratchet was there. He kept vocalizing. Ratchet decided that for the sake of his treatment of his other patients, he'd do something he rarely did: he removed Sunstreaker's battered chestplate and deftly disconnected the main data cable connecting his spark to his processor. The fighter's optics dimmed and his body relaxed, now truly resting on the table. The room was quiet except for the medical equipment in use and the internal systems of the mechs whose lives it was preserving. Ratchet returned to the table where he'd been working.
This was the table on which Prowl lay. When he'd first assessed Prowl's injuries, on the other side of the valley where Prowl impacted the rock of the mountain, he'd thought Prowl was essentially destroyed. Now, though, looking at what he had left to work with and comparing it to his other near-death case, Prowl wasn't so bad off. A lot of his armor was crushed, some of it so badly it was partially torn from its moorings, and his glass was all broken and his door wings smashed, but ... "At least I can still tell you're Prowl," Ratchet said to his silent patient, "and I can recondition most of your plating within a few days. Wheeljack will rebuild your doors for me and we'll have you back on duty within the week."
Ironhide was still on-line and heard this. He was glad to learn that Prowl wasn't so bad as he'd imagined. Ratchet paused in his narrative. He sounded so close to exhaustion that Ironhide feared he might fall down himself. Ironhide wanted him to continue, wanted to know about that young mech who'd flown to save Sunstreaker.
"'Hide, I know you're on-line," Ratchet addressed him as if he'd heard Ironhide thinking about him. "Your systems are too quiet to be recharging." When Ironhide didn't reply immediately, Ratchet looked over at him. "Well? Something wrong with your vocalizer?"
Ironhide powered up his optics and smiled fondly at his weary friend. "Nah, Ratch'. I just know ya don't like ta be interrupted with questions while yer workin' and thought you'd get around to what I wanna know soon enough."
The medic made a wry sound. "You know me too damn well, 'Hide. What do you want to know about Starrunner?"
"Is there enough to rebuild 'im? When Sides' loaded me up, there were an awful lot o' pieces."
"No, 'Hide, there's not. If Prime and Prowl'll authorize the expenditure, we'll have to remake him from scratch. He's down to his spark casing and his processors." The medic paused and thought for a moment. "Swoop was able to seal the cracks in his spark chamber quickly and salvage his processors from the mess before they drowned in fluids." Ratchet looked over to the table where Swoop had quickly set up a power source to keep Starrunner's processors properly energized. "I don't know if I can justify putting his re-build in the queue in front of the others who've been in stasis since the crash."
Ironhide thought for a moment. Ratchet met his optics. "Leave that ta me, Ratchet. To me an' Jazz, anyway. We'll get ya their authorization."
As of 02JAN2008, continued in Approaching the Origin.